This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Weapons such as machine guns, automatic weapons having belted ammunition, flame throwers, gatling guns, and the like that are not easily manually transported are often mounted to small, un-armored, or lightly armored vehicles to support the weight of the weapon and provide for rapid deployment. Structure used to mount the weapon needs to accommodate the weight and firing loads of the weapon while minimizing the weight impact to the vehicle. It is therefore common for multiple leg mounts such as tripods to be used both to provide elevation of the weapon and to distribute the loads to the vehicle, or for tubular mounts to be used.
Multiple leg mounts provide point loading at the contact area of the legs. When a plate is used as the main contact point, even with multiple legs used for extending the weapon, the plate can produce localized high stress areas at the plate connection joint or at points of contact of the structure with the vehicle. In addition, common weapon mounts that are welded use continuous weld joints that increase both a construction cost and mount weight.